| Game Name: | Cotton Bowl Classic |
| Subheader: | CFP New Year’s Six 81st Cotton Bowl Classic |
| Title Sponsor: | Goodyear |
| Date Game Played: | January 2 |
| Year Game Played: | 2017 |
| Football Season: | 2016 |
| Stadium: | AT&T Stadium |
| City: | Arlington, Texas |
| Visitor School: | Western Michigan |
| Visitor Name Short: | Western Michigan |
| Visitor Nickname: | Broncos |
| Visitor Record: | 13–0 |
| Visitor Conference: | MAC |
| Visitor Rank Ap: | 12 |
| Visitor Rank Coaches: | 15 |
| Visitor Rank Cfp: | 15 |
| Visitor Coach: | P. J. Fleck |
| Visitor 1Q: | 0 |
| Visitor 2Q: | 7 |
| Visitor 3Q: | 3 |
| Visitor 4Q: | 6 |
| Home School: | Wisconsin |
| Home Name Short: | Wisconsin |
| Home Nickname: | Badgers |
| Home Record: | 10–3 |
| Home Conference: | Big Ten |
| Home Rank Ap: | 8 |
| Home Rank Coaches: | 8 |
| Home Rank Cfp: | 8 |
| Home Coach: | Paul Chryst |
| Home 1Q: | 14 |
| Home 2Q: | 3 |
| Home 3Q: | 0 |
| Home 4Q: | 7 |
| Odds: | Wisconsin by 8.5 |
| Mvp: | Offense: Troy Fumagalli (TE, WIS) Defense: T. J. Edwards (LB, WIS) |
| Referee: | Riley Johnson (ACC) |
| Attendance: | 59,615 |
| Us Network: | ESPN |
| Us Announcers: | Bob Wischusen, Brock Huard and Allison Williams (ESPN) |
| Different Previous: | 2015 (Dec.) |
| Different Next: | 2017 (Dec.) |
The 2017 Cotton Bowl Classic was a college football bowl game played on January 2, 2017, at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas. It featured the Western Michigan Broncos from the Mid-American Conference and the Wisconsin Badgers from the Big Ten Conference. The 81st Cotton Bowl Classic was one of the New Years Six bowl games in the College Football Playoff for the 2016–17 bowl games concluding the 2016 FBS football season.
The game was broadcast on ESPN, ESPN Deportes, ESPN Radio and XM Satellite Radio. It was sponsored by the Goodyear Tire and Rubber Company and was officially known as the Goodyear Cotton Bowl Classic.
Mid-American Conference (MAC) champion Western Michigan was selected as an at-large as the highest ranked College Football Playoff (CFP) Group of Five team while Wisconsin was chosen as an at-large out of the Big Ten Conference. Wisconsin was an 8 point favorite to start the game.[1]
This was the fifth meeting between the schools, with Wisconsin leading the all-time series 4–1. The most recent meeting was on August 31, 2000, where the Badgers defeated the Broncos by a score of 19–7.[2] This was the first Cotton Bowl for both teams.
With Western Michigan representing the MAC, this was the first Cotton Bowl Classic to feature a MAC team.
| Statistics | Western Michigan | Wisconsin |
|---|---|---|
| First Downs | 18 | 18 |
| Plays-yards | 59-280 | 52-362 |
| Third down efficiency | 5–11 | 7–11 |
| Rushes-yards | 31-123 | 38-184 |
| Passing yards | 157 | 178 |
| Passing, Comp-Att-Int | 16-28-1 | 13-14-0 |
| Time of Possession | 29:55 | 30:05 |
| Team | Category | Player | Statistics |
|---|---|---|---|
| Western Michigan | Passing | 16–28, 157 YDS, 1 TD, 1 INT | |
| Rushing | Jamauri Bogan | 16 CAR, 58 YDS | |
| Receiving | 6 REC, 73 YDS, 1 TD | ||
| Wisconsin | Passing | Bart Houston | 11–12, 159 YDS |
| Rushing | 22 CAR, 71 YDS, 1 TD | ||
| Receiving | Troy Fumagalli | 6 REC, 83 YDS, 1 TD |